Singapore has managed to blend the old with the new in an almost seamless fashion.
Despite the many modern skyscrapers it has still retained many of it’s buildings from well over a hundred years ago.
Many of Singapore’s buildings were built in the Art Deco style dating between 1920 and 1930
Factory and office buildings benefited greatly from its widespread adoption.
Ordinary shop-houses and cottages frequently had Art Deco-style additions and decorations added to them.
We’ve compiled some of the most famous buildings in Singapore for you that will leave you staring in wonderment.
Famous Buildings in Singapore
1. Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
A performing arts center in Singapore’s downtown area, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, is overseen by the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY).
It is situated on the waterfront of the Singapore River. The Esplanade Performing Arts Center is a multi-purpose venue that features a music hall with seating for roughly 1,600 people and a theater with seating for about 2,000 people.
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The Advisory Council for Culture and the Arts suggested constructing a new performing arts center in 1992. The center, which opened in February 2001, was formally opened on October 12, 2002, by then-President of Singapore S. R. Nathan.
The Esplanade features several different spaces for business meetings and social gatherings, in addition to several other services relating to the arts and cultural scene.
Entry to the Esplanade Mall may be found between the concert hall and the theater, with both connecting to the main concourse via a foyer.
2. Marina Bay Sands
The Marina Bay Sands (or simply MBS) is a massive resort complex on Singapore’s waterfront. When it first opened in 2010, Las Vegas Sands Corporation’s resort was valued at S$8 billion or US$6.88 billion, making it the most costly standalone casino facility worldwide.
The resort features a 2,561-room hotel, a 120,000m² (1.3M sq. ft.) exhibition and conference center, the 74,000m² (800,000 sq ft) The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, a gallery, a vast theater, “celebrity chef” eateries, two floating crystal pavilions, science, and art displays, as well as the largest global atrium casino having 1600 slot games and 500 tables.
There is an infinity pool of 150 meters (490 feet) in length and situated atop the longest open suspended terrace, which extends out from the north tower by a distance of 66.5 meters (220 feet) (218 ft). Moshe Safdie architects designed the property’s 20 hectares.
3. Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
One of Singapore’s earliest theaters, the Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall, dates back to 1905 and has been lovingly restored to its neo-classical splendor.
After a four-year makeover, the Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall resumed in 2014 as a dynamic, mid-sized venue for performing arts by local, national, and worldwide artists, arts groups, and neighborhoods and one among Singapore’s finest recognizable monuments.
The Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall has been entertaining audiences since its inception in 1862. The historic edifice in the metro’s Civic District houses a Theatre with 614 seats and a Concert Hall with 673.
The four-year renovation began in 2010, with the national landmark now boasting a restored neo-classical exterior and cutting-edge modern comforts.
Two smaller rooms were added during the renovation for use as rehearsal spaces for performing arts.
The Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall has been an integral part of Singapore’s cultural life for over 150 years, and it remains a dynamic, mid-sized platform that helps to foster the metro’s thriving state arts scene.
4. Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore
The Sri Mariamman Temple was the first Hindu temple to be built in Singapore, far back in 1827. This temple was constructed in Dravidian architecture and was dedicated to pragmatic worship.
The larger percentage of Hindu Singaporeans are Tamilians, and the temple at 244 South Bridge Road in Chinatown caters to them.
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The temple’s historical and architectural value has resulted in its designation as a National Monument and its status as a popular tourist destination.
The Hindu Endowments Board, a legal panel reporting to the Ministry of Community Development, Youth, and Sport, is responsible for the day-to-day operations at Sri Mariamman Temple.
With its gopuram towering over the frontage on South Bridge Road, that temple was designed in South Indian Dravidian architecture. It has six stories and is lavishly decorated with statues of Hindu deities, various figures, and beautiful ornamentation.
As it rises, the tower gradually narrows until it reaches an elaborately carved crest. Each successive tier features artworks that are slightly smaller in scale than their predecessor.
5. The Fullerton Hotel Singapore
This enormous neoclassical monument, the Fullerton Building, was constructed in 1928 and has stood the test of time in style. Formerly the site of the Singapore Club, the Exchange, the Chamber of Commerce, and the General Post Office, it was designated a National Monument in December 2015.
It is located in the heart of the Central Area at 1 Fullerton Square, close to the mouth of the Singapore River. The initial Straits Settlement Governor, Robert Fullerton, inspired the building’s namesake (between 1826 and 1829).
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A Shanghai firm of architects, Major P.H. Keys of Keys & Dowdeswell, obtained the contract in an architectural design contest and was assigned to create the structure as an office complex in 1924 as part of the British colony’s centenary celebrations.
It was a major factor in Singapore’s development for almost a century. The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, originally built in 1887, has been renovated into a spectacular five-star establishment with 400 rooms. Elegant rooms offer stunning vistas of the Marina Bay or Singapore River.
6. Raffles Hotel
In Singapore, you’ll find the colonial-style opulence of the Raffles Hotel. In 1887, it was opened by the Sarkies Brothers, Armenian hoteliers. The hotel honors Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British statesman widely regarded as the founder of contemporary Singapore, with its name.
In the early 1830s, a private individual constructed what is now known as the Raffles Hotel Singapore on a nearby beach. The hotel was shuttered for a $160 million, two-year restoration in 1989.
It was September 16th, 1991, when the hotel reopened for business. The hotel underwent extensive renovations to bring it back to its majestic 1915 appearance. Suites now replace standard guest rooms.
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Katara Hospitality, a government-owned company based in Qatar, is the hotel’s owner. The hotel’s third and final phase of a three-part restoration program began on 13 December 2017, and it is expected to be finished in August 2019.
The shopping arcade inside the Raffles Hotel is home to forty unique stores. The majority of the hotel’s dining options may be found within the arcade.
7. St Andrew’s Cathedral, Singapore
Singapore is home to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral, an Anglican church. It is situated in the heart of Singapore’s commercial hub, the Central Area, close to City Hall in the Downtown Core. For more than 55 different congregations, this church is their spiritual home.
Even though the current church building dates back to 1856-1861, a church has stood on the site since 1836. The Cathedral uses a St. Andrew’s Cross as its symbol. Due to the absence of a lightning conductor in the spire, the original church was deemed hazardous after two lightning hits.
The second building, modeled in the Gothic Revival style, was erected with the help of Indian prison laborers at the behest of William Butterworth, the Governor of the Straits Settlements.
In November of 2005, construction was finished on an addition to the Cathedral known as the New Sanctuary.
It has a new worship hall housed within two levels of underground, additional floor area, and was entirely constructed underground to meet conservation standards for a gazetted national monument.
8. The Interlace
The Interlace is an apartment development in Singapore that spans the border between Queenstown and Bukit Merah and contains 1,040 individual units.
This structure stands out because it deviates from the usual high-rise layout found in densely populated areas.
The building, designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, copped the World Building of the Year award at the World Architecture Festival in 2015.
Located near the crossroads of Depot Road and Alexandra Road, the 8-hectare site upon which the 170,000-square-meter Interlace complex stands.
It consists of 31 residential towers, with apartments ranging in size from 800 to 6,300 square feet. Swimming pools, a fitness center, and tennis courts are available for guests’ enjoyment.
There are eight courtyards in Interlace, each surrounded by a series of six-story buildings. The blocks can be stacked to a maximum of 24 stories by placing them on edge with one another in a 44 format at the core.
9. Golden Mile Complex
Located on Beach Road in Kallang, Singapore, Golden Mile Complex is a high-rise residential and business structure within walking distance of the Nicoll Highway MRT station.
Once known as Woh Hup Complex, the name has been changed. There are 411 stores and 500 parking spots in the complex. The majority of the Thai community in Singapore resides in this building.
Inside its platform and tiered terrace construction, the Golden Mile Complex has a variety of commercial and residential uses, including offices, retail, entertainment, and apartment living, in the form of a new style of architecture called Brutalism. There are 68 apartments and 226 office spaces there.
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Tay Kheng Soon, William Lim, and Gan Eng Oon of the Singapore architectural company Design Partnership (now DP Architects) were responsible for the building’s design. The tiered structure is very effective at dampening traffic noise.
In April of 2021, a chunk of the ceiling collapsed next to a door, but luckily nobody was hurt.
10. Old Hill Street Police Station
Once serving as a station for the Singapore Police Force, the Old Hill Street Police Station can be found on Hill Street in the Central Area of Singapore.
Several incarnations of the name Balai Polis Hill Street Lama were tried out before finally settling on the current moniker.
There are 927 windows in the structure, and they’re all colored differently.
Some people may have noticed that the first four stories’ colored windows are of the same brilliant intensity, whereas the top stories’ windows gradually increase to highlight the cantilevered balconies, which are intriguing architectural characteristics of this old structure.